Some months ago, a new off-stream water storage for Walcha was announced by local member Adam Marshall MP. It will provide Walcha with 300 ML of water which will quadruple the town’s water supply at a cost of $11m - supplied by both the State and Federal governments.
For comparison, Dumaresq Dam, which was built in 1898 as Armidale’s primary water source, holds 300 ML. Armidale’s Dumaresq Dam is an in-stream dam which recently has been reinforced to strengthen the concrete wall. It is worth noting that this dam has interrupted Dumaresq Creek’s natural flow of water from Duembandyi (Mt Duval) through Armidale for over 120 years - hence the need to explore ways of restoring ‘natural’ levels of flow along our creeklands.
The Armidale Creeklands Master Plan - approved in 2020 - argues that off-stream water storages are preferable to in-stream interventions due to the risk of damage due to flood waters and/or the potential for increasing the risks of flood damage.
Our association has long dreamed of finding source(s) of water to supplement natural environmental flows, especially during dry times. If we could find a source of water, we could help re-engineer our creeklands to have healthy flows, even during dry times - like those we are experiencing right now (winter 2023).
Increasing Flowing, healthy water supports aquatic life and helps wildlife and birds - and humans - to enjoy an even more beautiful creeklands precinct.
This story about off-stream water storages is to inform the community about our ideas to get more environmental water flowing. In preparing this story, we are grateful for the wonderful assistance of Suzannah Mitchell, the Environmental Sustainability Manager at the University of New England, who has provided some of the images below, along with some valuable explanations.